Nigel Lane » Motivation

Tennis – a sport or much, much more?

nigel — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:21:00 +0000

Right now we are in the middle of the Australian Open Grand Slam Tennis tournament – and what fun it is. I spent 3 days on Rod Laver Arena last week and enjoyed myself immensely. It brought back two interesting questions that I was asked – one of them I still get asked from time to time.

As many of you will know, I am an Englishman who moved to Australia 12 years ago and one of the regular (still occasional) questions I was asked is :”What is the difference between youth work in England and in Australia?” My response was that the issues young people face seem very similar – what to do in their future, relationships, self esteem, parents etc. Although Australian youth face an additional issue – sport!

I will explain by recounting a conversation I had with a 15 year old guy in Victoria (I will Read More

Success is Hard Work, But So Is Failure

nigel — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Some people dream of success . . . while others wake up and work hard at it. – Author Unknown

Just like every action has a consequence, inaction also brings about its own consequences. It may seem easier not to work on your goals and dreams and instead spend most of your time whinging about your hard luck and envying those who seem to have it so easy. You may think you’re taking the path of least resistance as you seek shortcuts and avoid taking big risks, but everything you fail to do now comes back to bite you later. What you fail to realise is that you are working equally hard at failure as you would at success!

Think about that: with everything you do (or don’t do) you are contributing your energy to it. Either you give it your effort, or you give it your resistance. A little piece of you goes into everything you do. Think of it as an energy investment. If you consistently try to avoid the things that seem too difficult or scary – that’s the type of Read More

A to Z of Achieving Your Dream

nigel — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:49:00 +0000

This is the time of year when some have left their New Year’s Resolutions behind already but they still want to move forward this year. For others they are still working out what 2012 may hold for them. Today I would like to offer 26 thought starters to help you define and achieve your dreams for your life – in 2012 and way beyond. Feel free to comment below if any of them stand out to you or if you would like some further exploration.

You can follow the dreams theme throughout this week through Facebook and Twitter too – just click on the buttons in the right hand column.

Achieving Your Dream
Age is not an issue
Boldness is often necessary
Challenges create growth
Dare to dream
Express it – tell others about your dream
Failure isn’t final
Give it your best shot
Have Read More

2nd Twin

nigel — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:47:31 +0000

The second of the ‘twins’ presented to school in exactly the same way as the first – lethargic, uninterested, de-motivated and ‘switched off’.

However, upon further discussion and questioning, this guy was facing as totally different issue.

He is motivated, he has a purpose and an aim for his life but it doesn’t involve or need school – or at least he can’t see how he needs school. A career in the performing arts is his goal. The next step is to enrol in a performing arts academy to study his craft and his acceptance will be based on interview and audition. The logical conclusion to his reasoning is that academic study is of no use and ion some measure he may be right.

My discussions began to centre on the soft/people skills that are available to him at school. Whilst he may not see the need for scientific study of the human body or the benefits of learning about religion in society there are still things school Read More

Identical Twins? I don’t think so.

nigel — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:48:00 +0000

A short time ago I had a conversation with two young men (separately, not together) as they had been referred to me by their school. They were both demotivated, unfocussed, falling behind in their work and were a concern to both the school and their families. They are both the same age, 17, and both disorganised. On the face of it I had two identical problems that could be dealt with in identical ways – but the reality was far from that. Additionally I need to work hard against pre-deciding what they need before they arrive and always need to listen to their story before offering any suggestions.

My normal approach is to base any initial discussion around two simply stated, yet difficult to answer questions. Who are you? How can I serve you? As you would imagine the answers to the first question are never the same although most young people struggle with the second question as they are used to serving adults not the other way round.
Read More

Would you prefer 50 cents or 500 bucks?

nigel — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:55:21 +0000

Just the other day I was talking to a young man who is on the edge of leaving school early. I don’t mean going home before lunch, I mean that his school is suggesting to him that he needs to change or he needs to change. [No that wasn’t a typographical error]. Let me explain.

Either he needs to change his attitude and his current level of effort or he needs to change his school. He wouldn’t be expelled, as such, but he would be encouraged to go and find a place that meets his requirements. The difficulty is that they will only meet his immediate requirements not his medium and long term ones. Many young people, scratch the word young, many people don’t make decisions and think about their future at the same time. They are keen on instant fixes, immediate solutions and now answers. Life, unlike coffee, doesn’t come with an instant option.

During the conversation I had one of those moments of creativity and explained that school [actually school, Read More